I began shooting Muzzle Loaders in the mid-1980s. I started with a Cap & Ball Revolver then purchased a used Thompson Center 50 caliber Hawken Cap-lock rifle. I’ve bought and sold many guns since.
About 1996, I purchased a CVA Kentucky Flintlock at a Gun Show. It was used so, no instructions and at that time, no Internet to download them. I took it out in to the woods for what I thought was going to be an afternoon of fun. I made the mistake of not only covering the Touch Hole but managed to fill it with powder as well. Every time the gun went off, it sprayed burnt powder across my forehead, even with a Ball Cap on! After about five or six shots, I took it home, cleaned it up and put it away. Later when I returned to California, I delivered it to a local Muzzleloader Shop and asked them to sell it for me. My reason being, IT’S NOT FUN! I stayed with Cap-locks ever since.
Here it is 20 plus years later and after realizing my earlier mistake (by reading a book on Flintlocks), I’m following a path I started way back then. So far, it’s been enjoyable but not without a few surprises. It definitely has a learning curve but Knowledge is Power!
A seasoned Flint Shooter in my club got me to try it again. He told me I needed to sell all my cap-locks so I couldn’t give up easy and go back to them. Not only did I do that but also sold my “Production” Flintlocks as well so I could afford some nice custom-made guns. I’m down to a 62 Caliber Trade Gun with an extra 50 caliber Round Ball Barrel for Hunting. I have a 40 caliber Pennsylvania Long-Rifle as well as a 40 caliber English pistol. As someone mentioned earlier, a good quality lock is a MUST and my factory guns were “Rock” eaters! I’m planning on hunting with a Flint-lock and Patched Round Ball from here on out.
Almost anyone with a little tutelage can master a Cap-Lock Muzzle Loader in a relatively short period of time. There is a learning curve with the Flint-lock. It will take some practice to learn to ignore the flash happening in front of your face. The same book “Flintlocks, A Practical Guide for their Use and Appreciation” by Eric A. Bye, emphasizes the importance of “Follow Through”. In it, he states that you want to concentrate on your target and hold your rifle as if to watch the ball hit the target through your sights.
My personal opinion is that a half-stock rifle should be Percussion and a Full-stock should be Flint. They just look better that way to me although my wife’s long-rifle is Percussion (her personal preference).
I’m with Bucky and think if you’re going to build a long-rifle, make it a Flinter. If nothing else just to mix it up a bit!
It’s always good to hear that a Pilgrim has joined our ranks. I have never regretted this path and Muzzle Loaders are still my preferable guns to shoot.
) then flint gives a greater time period. For America 1607-1840. While precision is 1820 - 1940and after 1870 increasing rare.
